Modern language GCSEs lowest in years

Fewer than half of English school pupils are taking a modern European language to GCSE level, according to official figures.

The figures, obtained in a parliamentary written answer by the Liberal Democrats, show the declining proportion of children (28.7%) taking GCSE French this year compared with a take-up of 54% in 2000.

One child in 10 now takes German GCSE, compared with one in five a decade ago.

The decline comes after the government made modern languages optional for pupils over 14 in 2004.

According to the Lib Dems, pupils are giving up on foreign languages altogether rather than switching to 'new' languages such as Mandarin. The uptake of 'other modern languages' is lower now than in any of the past 14 years.

Lib Dem shadow schools secretary, David Laws, said: "These figures are truly shocking. In just five years we have gone from the vast majority of young people taking GCSEs in European languages, to less than half.

"We have an unfortunate reputation abroad for not learning other languages, but things are only going to get worse."

He accused Labour of presiding over the destruction of modern language teaching in five years, with "flawed government policies" playing a large part.

"The government should never have stopped the compulsory teaching of languages to GCSE level until it had boosted language teaching in primary schools," Mr Laws said.

"In today's target driven culture, schools and pupils are always under pressure to take the subjects which deliver good grades rather than a good education. This motivation can scare young people away from the benefits of learning a second language.

"What is needed is a review of the consistency of exam grading, a rapid expansion of language teaching in primary schools, and measures to boost the number of good quality language teachers coming into the profession."

Teresa Tinsley, director of communications at the National Centre for Languages (Cilt), which is due to publish its annual trends survey next Monday, said the figures were not likely to get worse.

"It looks as if the decline has hit the bottom and is levelling out. There will be further decline in the number of language GCSEs taken this summer but after that it looks fairly flat.

"That's a challenge because the numbers are very low but Lord Dearing's review set out the agenda for change and there's the opportunity of the diplomas. We believe there should be opportunities to study languages within each of those specific diplomas."

She said there was more that could be done to enforce the current statutory position and schools had largely ignored a letter from Jacqui Smith, the then minister of state for schools, in January 2006 asking them to set a benchmark of between 50% to 90% of key stage 4 pupils taking any type of language accreditation.

A Cilt survey in autumn 2006 showed a "reasonable" 17% of schools had set a benchmark. This figure has not changed this autumn.

Ms Tinsley added: "There has been an increase in the number of schools offering alternative qualifications, in particular 'asset languages'."

These qualifications are offered over a wider range of languages and people can build up different elements such as reading and writing.

The schools minister, Jim Knight, said: "Whilst we are encouraged by the increase in numbers of pupils taking Spanish and other foreign languages, we have been concerned for sometime about the decline in language learning in secondary schools.

"That is why we commissioned Lord Dearing to look at this. He published his report earlier this year and we are in the process of implementing his recommendations which we are confident will reverse this trend."

Pamela Moores, chair of the University Council of Modern Languages, said languages were in danger of becoming an exclusively middle-class, female-dominated subject.

"The picture looks dire overall and it is but the contrast with independent and specialist schools and comprehensive schools is huge. It's not even the norm in such a large number of schools and that's distressing."

Whole groups of young people are not getting the opportunity to study languages because headteachers avoid putting pupils in for languages when they think they are more likely to get a decent GCSE doing something else, she said.